Tempe and Scottsdale are known as Phoenix’s “traditional” tech hubs in the Valley due to their live, work, and play environments. But the rise of downtown Phoenix as a viable alternative for technology companies continues to grow. More housing and retail options have improved the vibrancy of the area, attracting more people to the downtown area. But the question remains: How do you choose which submarket is right for your office location?
There are many factors to consider when evaluating your ideal office space, but one of the most important is labor. Having a deep understanding of where your potential employees live (and where they are willing to commute) may determine whether you should move to the heart of Old Town Scottsdale or join the growing Warehouse District. Here are three ways to utilize labor analysis to ease your real estate decision-making.
Define your ideal employee
Every technology company is different when it comes to its ideal employee. Much of that has to do with which stage of growth the business is in. Does your company benefit from recent computer science or multimedia arts college graduates, or do you need experienced software developers? Are you looking to hire senior leaders or fill entrance-level positions?
Some submarkets vary widely by demographic, so it’s important to determine the answers to these questions to help guide your location search.
Identify where labor is coming from
Once you know the type of employee you’re seeking, you can work with a real estate expert to determine where those people are located. A good real estate expert should be able to provide detailed labor analytics to uncover:
- The demographics profile of residents within certain areas
- Population densities relating to your ideal demographic
- Labor flow between submarkets
- Average drive times between labor markets
- Compensation and living statistics within labor markets
- And more
Identify competitors within key labor markets
In addition to identifying key labor markets you may be interested in, your real estate expert can help uncover competitors within the area. In some cases, you may benefit from doing business down the street from competitors—but if the area is over-saturated with companies vying for the same employee type, a strong employee retention plan may be hard to implement.
In the technology sector, recruiting and retaining strong talent is a key factor to success. You can utilize your real estate to help with that. Where your office is located could be a deciding factor for your next star employee, so make it a point to understand your employees and what is important to them.
